James Spader is Ultron!

Well here’s one we didn’t see coming – James Spader, he of Sex, Lies and Videotape fame, has signed on to play the titular villain in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Spader seems a fitting choice to play the mechanical menace, having previously played smart, charming sociopaths. The question is: will Spader be provided voice work only, or will he be donning the motion capture suit (much like Mark Ruffalo in his role as the Hulk)? Either way, this is new territory for the veteran actor.

Age of Ultron will reunite the super pals as they face off against Ultron, a sentient maniac with a personal vendetta against the Avengers. Ultron, for those who aren’t in the know, is a robotic lunatic with super-strength and genius level intellect, so he should pose somewhat of a threat to Stark et al. He was also created by Henry Pym, A.K.A Ant-Man, though both Marvel and Ant-Man director Edgar Wright have ruled out his appearance in Age of Ultron.

He will be joining the returning Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth and likely Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner. Rumour has it that Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson will also be joining the team as The Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver respectively.

Avengers: Age of Ultron will hit our screens on May 1, 2015.